Senator Delano Seiveright has formally thrown his hat into the ring to characterize the ruling Jamaica Labour Get together (JLP) in the important thing constituency of St Andrew North Central for the subsequent common election, which is anticipated by September.
In a Good Friday statement, Seiveright, who presently serves as a junior minister within the Ministry of Tourism, stated his bid for the seat is rooted in a long time of grassroots work inside the JLP. “This journey shouldn’t be about looking for a place however about partnership, unity, and delivering significant outcomes,” he stated. “I’m stepping ahead not out of entitlement or expectation, however out of a real want to contribute, to serve, and to assist take North Central St Andrew to the subsequent stage.”
The seat is presently held by long-serving MP Karl Samuda, who shouldn’t be anticipated to hunt re-election. Samuda, 83, is the joint-longest serving parliamentarian in Jamaican historical past, having first entered the Home in 1980. Whereas Samuda initially expressed surprise at JLP Common Secretary Dr. Horace Chang’s public announcement of his departure, Seiveright stated Samuda has since given him his full endorsement. Seiveright additionally praised Samuda’s spouse, Pauline, for her behind-the-scenes function as a key constituency administrator.
Seiveright’s entry units up what might be a high-profile inner contest. His perceived fundamental challenger is lawyer Christian Tavares-Finson, son of Senate President and JLP stalwart Tom Tavares-Finson.
The senator’s political inventory has been rising shortly. After serving almost 9 years as a senior adviser within the tourism ministry, he was appointed to the Senate in February 2025 and named a junior minister simply weeks later — strikes that fueled hypothesis about his political ambitions and the social gathering’s succession planning in key constituencies.
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Seiveright emphasised that his candidacy is a product of “a lot reflection [and] trustworthy dialogue” with constituents, whose encouragement, he stated, performed a significant function in his choice. A previous scholar of Calabar Excessive College and resident of the world, he was additionally unanimously elected vice chairman of the constituency final November.
The previous president of Technology 2000, the JLP’s youth affiliate, Seiveright has lengthy been generally known as a firebrand in social gathering circles, credited with serving to energize the social gathering’s base forward of its return to energy in 2007.
All through his announcement, Seiveright made some extent to focus on loyalty to the JLP and Prime Minister Andrew Holness. “I’m dedicated to supporting him and the mission of the JLP as we transfer ahead,” he stated.
